Practice

Case Study: Families & Fiancés

When a visa is denied, Susan Im fights to keep a family together.

A naturalized U.S. citizen from Vietnam applied for an immigrant visa (permanent residency) for his wife who was living in Vietnam, without using any legal counsel. The initial I-130 petition to establish the husband and wife’s relationship was approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). However, at the immigrant visa interview in Ho Chi Minh City, the wife was denied the visa based on the U.S. embassy officer’s belief that insufficient evidence had been presented to demonstrate that the marriage was in good faith and authentic.

The embassy officer sent the case back to USCIS with a recommendation to revoke the I-130 immigrant petition approval, which at the time meant a 24-month wait with a real possibility that USCIS would agree with the embassy and revoke the initial approval.

The naturalized citizen then decided to take on legal counsel and contacted Susan Im about the situation. Susan worked with the husband and wife to present a strong rebuttal to the embassy’s recommendation to revoke I-130 approval.

The USCIS agreed with the position presented in the rebuttal and reaffirmed the I-130 approval. After a second immigrant visa interview for the wife, she was issued an immigrant visa. Due to Susan’s efforts, the wife was able to join her husband in the United States and begin building their new life together.